At the end of this half term, our Y13 chemists presented their academic posters on Physical Chemistry to fellow pupils and staff.
This university-level exercise introduces Sixth Form pupils to an essential presentation skill used widely within the academic community. Academic posters are a visual form of communicating academic research and projects that often combine elements of text, diagrams and other media to convey ideas as effectively as possible. In addition to the visual aspect of the challenge, pupils were also required to articulate their work and answer questions.
Prizes were awarded to three students for Best Scientific Content (Sindeed), Best Presentation (Katrina), and the ‘People’s prize’, voted on by staff and students (Sohan).
Ella Cameron, Head of Chemistry, said on the night: “The Year 13s were utterly brilliant tonight. The passion, sincerity and fluency with which they spoke about their research was a pleasure to witness, as was their evident mastery of the concepts – some highly intricate, all fundamental. The diversity of topics was brilliant, from Maxwell’s Demon to Lithium Batteries to the Nanochemistry of Sunscreen. The department are extremely proud of them all, and they will continue to be an inspiration to the Year 12s throughout their A Level studies.”
Katrina (pictured below), who won the presentation award, said: “The chemistry poster was a great opportunity to explore an area of chemistry beyond the curriculum. My poster was about molecular orbital theory, which looks at how electrons interact in bonds. This was a concept I had not previously considered, and I enjoyed researching an area in more depth than usual.”
Sohan (below), who picked up the ‘People’s Prize’, reflected: “I loved the poster experience. I thought it was a wonderful way to expand knowledge as well as presentation skills, due to the variation of ideas and topics on show. I am hoping to do Chemistry at an undergraduate level and I think this exposure to a personal presentation, which I haven’t done before at this high of a level, will help me with future presentations I decide to showcase at degree level and beyond.”
